


Brand New Day

by Bleebtheweeb



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Arthur is a pining dork, F/F, F/M, Hellbent, Kinda a Fix-it, Lewvithur - Freeform, M/M, Multi, OT3, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 18:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16434836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bleebtheweeb/pseuds/Bleebtheweeb
Summary: Sure, there were movies about a situation like this, but the idea of it truly happening in real life was absurd. Then again, Arthur was chased by ghosts on a weekly basis. Was it really that big of a stretch to say he was stuck in a time loop?





	Brand New Day

Arthur was shaken awake with a yawn. Lazily, he looked up at Vivi. “My turn to drive?” He asked. Vivi looked just as tired as he felt, although the bags underneath her eyes were much less prominent. She nodded and answered him, “Yeah, I caught myself drifting off, it’s probably better if you take the wheel. You should also take a look at the car, we’ve been having problems again.” Groaning, he got up from the makeshift bed they had in the van. “On it, dude. You get some shut-eye.”

After rummaging around for a few moments, he found his toolbox and got to work. Vivi was right, things were a bit out of place, probably due to some gravel road they had traveled on or something. Shaking off his haze of sleepiness, he grabbed a wrench. First, he focused on the bolts that had gotten strangely loose, then he took a glance at everything else. In about thirty minutes he was satisfied with his work. There were a few things he wished he could do, the van was really dirty, and he’d love for Lance to look it over too. Arthur’s eyes weren’t the most dependable it seemed. Just last night he thought he saw some horrible fox beast in Mystery’s place. With a chuckle, he slid out from under the car. The auto-shop wasn’t too far from where they were now, he probably could get Lance to look over some stuff.

So, with that plan in mind, he hopped in the car. Mystery was in the seat next to him, his head tilted downwards and brows furrowed in concern. The thing Mystery was looking it seemed to be some type of flower petal, though it wasn’t any flower Arthur recognized. He frowned, feeling as if he should comfort the dog, but too scared to do so. Arthur knew it was probably just the result of staying up too late and paranoia, but he couldn’t shake the pit in his stomach around Mystery.

Against his better judgment, he put out a hand. He was shaky, and nearly pulled back when the dog moved, but eventually pet him on the head. Mystery leaned into the touch happily, already looking much less worried. With a sigh, he turned around to check on Vivi. It seemed she was asleep already. Arthur chucked, turned the keys, and started on their way.

The drive was calm, the roads clear and stars shining above. It gave him time to think, which was never a good thing in his eyes. His mind always drifted to Vivi and Lewis. God, Lewis, where the fuck was he? Arthur had looked everywhere he could think of, bleeding himself dry to try and find his friend. The dreadful thought that maybe he’d never find Lewis had started to sink in, making him feel even lonelier than when his friend had been with them. He felt guilty for his loneliness though, since Vivi was right there with him and so was Mystery. They loved him, cared for him, and Arthur intentionally distanced himself.

Mystery, of course, he had grown an unease around, so he didn’t really spend time with the dog. Vivi however, he couldn’t bring himself to grow close to her in the way he had always wanted. It was wrong, Vivi was Lewis’s girlfriend. Even if Vivi didn’t remember him that didn’t change the fact that if Arthur made a move it would be wrong. Plus, it would feel wrong without Lewis, even if he knew his friend didn’t want to be with her. They had always been the trio of best friends, Lewis, Arthur, and Vivi. Them three against the world, against ghosts, against anything. Then when Lewis and Vivi got together and Arthur realized his love for his friends went beyond them being friends. It was too late though. Lewis and Vivi were the perfect duo, he couldn’t barge in and ruin that. Hell, he couldn’t even only have a crush on either Lewis or Vivi, he had the audacity to want both of them. It was wrong and wasn’t meant to be, so he shoved those emotions to the back of his heart. Then Lewis went missing. 

He was snapped out of his internal dilemma as the music on the radio started to glitch and become distorted. The lights in the van flickered, as did the headlights, and Arthur swore he saw pink sparks dance across the dash. He shivered as the air around him seemed to go cold, hair standing up at the back of his neck. Something wasn’t right. A figure was in his rearview mirror, for just a split second in his peripheral. His eyes darted up and his heartbeat grew faster each moment of dead silence. It was too quiet, eerily so.

Arthur glanced behind him, and caught sight of glaring pink headlights racing towards him. His stomach dropped, there was no way the ghost from the mansion had followed them, right? There was no way he even wanted to risk finding out the answer to that. Panicked, he fiddled with the keys, trying over and over to start up the van. He took another glance behind him. The truck was closer, he could make out small details. It didn’t matter. He tried the keys one more time, his breath hitching. They were going to get into a fucking crash if they didn’t move right now. Desperately pressing down the gas over and over, he glanced back behind them. The truck was way too close for comfort. In a last-ditch effort, he slammed his arm down on the dash, praying maybe it would do something, anything, to get him and his friends out of the situation.

Instead, he felt a searing pain shoot into his shoulder, akin to getting zapped while working with wires, but much, much worse. Arthur held his arm, grimacing in pain. His arm was limp, and he flailed the mechanical prosthetic around to no avail. Then, he heard the roar of engines. His attention was quickly ripped from his arm as he noticed the pink and black truck directly behind them. 

Luckily, it seemed like the van was working once again, so Arthur floored it. They sped off, the truck trailing right behind them, like a menacing beast chasing its prey. The thought made Arthur shudder. Glancing up, he noticed a sign above the tunnel they were about to pass through that stated trucks couldn’t fit. They jetted through it and Arthur let out a groan of relief. Maybe their pursuer was gone?

Sadly, with a destructive burst of fire, the truck was back in their pursuit. Arthur was just barely ahead of the other vehicle when a strange wooden woman burst out of the ground and latched onto their hood. Her eyes fixated on Mystery with a sick grin. She reached into what seemed to be a pocket and pulled out a pair of large scissors that more closely resembled shears. Arthur’s eyes widened and he swerved, desperately trying to shake her off as she hammered their windshield with her scissors. Mystery seemed utterly terrified as the wooden beast shattered the window and sliced a small cut into the dog’s cheek. Her pupils dilated and she let out a wicked laugh, but Arthur was too distracted by the pursuit to understand why.

The woman was suddenly thrown off their van as it tilted to the side harshly. Did one of their tires pop? He didn’t have time to think about it as they hurled off a ledge and slammed into the side of Kingsman Mechanics. 

Everything was ringing, hazy, and Arthur’s head pounded. He vaguely remembered that they had crashed, but couldn’t bring himself to get up. Strangely, he felt like he was moving, like he was being dragged. Arthur couldn’t figure out if he was just woozy from the crash or if the movement was real. Slowly but surely, everything came back into focus, his headache only getting worse with the shift. He had been dragged, he realized, noticing he was out of the van. Did Vivi drag him out?

He looked up, expecting to see his blue-haired friend, but was instead met with the cruel blazing eyes of the menace that had been chasing them. Screaming, he struggled to get out of the specters grip to no avail. Arthur was thrown into the darkness of the truck like a sack of potatoes, with those terrible glowing eyes staring him down as he fell. 

Soon as he landed, lights flared up and transformed into shapeless ghosts, screeching and screaming at him. Arthur scrambled to his feet and ran through the cave, a sinking feeling making him sick as he realized where he was. There was no time to dwell though, as he was quickly forced to take the upper path. In his terror he almost scrambled off the edge, but quickly managed to get his balance. He wasn’t left to himself for long, the skeletal ghost gripped his shoulder and spun him around.

Arthur’s eyes widened in fear, his heart practically beating out of his chest. The monster's hand gripped his shirt, lifted him up, and dangled him over the edge of the cliff. Absolute terror enveloping every part of his mind, he found himself unable to do anything but grip his aggressor's hand. He felt unable to scream, unable to cry or beg. Until one thing snapped him out of that stupor.

In a blast of magenta flames, a face was exposed in the flames. A face he had stared at for years of his life, a face he was best friends with, a face he loved.

“Lewis?”

The word slipped out of his mouth without him even realizing. It was a shaky and weak word, the realization shaking Arthur to his core. Then he was falling, plummeting to his death, unable to truly process the events before him. At first he felt nothing, only realizing he had stopped falling. Craning his neck downwards he saw a stalagmite had punctured straight through the lower half of his torso. The buzzing he felt at the wound quickly transformed into a horrific pain, unlike anything he had ever felt before. Worse than even his arm being ripped out. He screamed, cried out for anyone, anything to help him. Vivi, Mystery, Lance, Lewis, anybody. Blood dripped from his lips, throat raw from his screams. He slowly slipped from reality, the world around him fading in and out until he was faced with nothingness.

Arthur’s eyes shot open and he sat up, still screaming. Vivi propelled herself backward, surprised at the sudden outburst. His heart clenched in his chest as he was immediately launched from his nightmare into a panic attack. The world seemed to close in around him and his lungs burned. Vivi crawled over to him and looked him in the eyes, “Breath, Arthur, breath. You’re alright, I’m right here, whatever you had a nightmare about isn’t real.”

Eventually, her calm voice and words soothed him, and Arthur felt some semblance of ok again. “You good?” She asked, concern dripping from her voice. He nodded and sighed, glad she was here with him, “Yeah, I’m good. Thank you so much Vivi, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Vivi smiled, and his heart skipped a beat. “Well, I caught myself drifting off, it’s probably best if you take the wheel. Oh, it would also be great if you took a look at the van. It started acting up again.” Arthur frowned, why did that sound so familiar? Passing off the strange feeling he had as still being shaken up, he replied to his friend, ”Yeah, I can do that. You get some sleep Viv.” 

With a groan, he grabbed his toolbox and exited the car. He slid under the van, contemplating the dream he had. It had seemed so real, too much so to be a nightmare. He could still feel the blood dripping from his mouth and could still see those glowing magenta eyes glaring at him with utter malice and hatred. Shuddering, Arthur decided to concentrate back on the van. There were a couple loose bolts that he had to screw back in but that was pretty much all he could see at that moment. He would love to get Lance to look over the van, given as his eyes had betrayed him lately. After all, just last night he thought he saw some horrible fox beast in Mystery’s place-

Confused for a moment, he froze in place. In the dream he had that exact thought and Vivi had said the exact same thing. In fact, he was pretty sure these loose screws were exactly the same too. Dread settled over him as he realized the similarities of the world around him to his nightmare. He chuckled, there was no way something like that would happen to him, he was just being paranoid. It was probably just dejavu or something along those lines. 

Sliding out from the van, he chuckled nervously, and got back in. Mystery sat in the passenger side seat, worriedly looking at a strange flower petal. It was orange, red, and looked exactly like the one he saw the dog pondering over before. He silently cursed his mind out for going back to that subject. Whether or not Arthur had seen it before didn’t matter, it was obviously stressing the dog out. He shot out his arm without hesitance, and pet Mystery. The dog leaned into his touch gratefully and Arthur smiled. He turned the keys and they started on their way.

An hour or so into the drive, his calm music started to get distorted, before eventually cutting out. He laughed nervously, noting it had been the same exact song as the one in his dream. Pink sparks danced across the dash and the van started to slow. Arthur glanced up to his rear view, catching the skeletal face that danced across it for a moment. Glancing behind him, his heart raced. The truck, the horrific blazing truck from his nightmare, was there once again. He bit back a cry of fear and fiddled with the keys. They needed to move now, they needed to get away from there. The keys weren’t working. Arthur slammed the gas over and over, praying something would happen. Sadly, nothing did. He glanced at his arm. It worked in the dream, maybe it would work in reality?

The metal prosthetic slammed down onto the dash and pain shot up his shoulder. This time, he didn’t pause to see if it was limp, nor did he look behind him. He just slammed on the gas and started going. If everything in his dream was truly happening, maybe it was some warning from a higher being that didn’t want him dead. Arthur didn’t really know and he didn’t really care, he just wanted to get as far from the truck as he possibly could. 

They raced past the tunnel with a decent start, but after the wooden woman jumped on the van they slowed significantly. Suddenly, it seemed the truck was right on them again. His heart was racing, as he tried desperately to shake the lady off. Once again, she broke through the windshield, cutting Mystery’s cheek. There was the tire popping, and she was thrown off. He sighed, before remembering what happened next.

They hurled off the hill, slamming into the corner of Kingsman Mechanics. The world around him was hazy and Arthur’s head pounded. He knew he should move, get himself out of danger, couldn’t bring himself to get up. Suddenly, it felt like he was being dragged. Arthur snapped back to reality and looked up, finding the cold glowing eyes he feared to find. Immediately he cried out and struggled, flailing around. He needed to get out of this grip, he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to be shredded to pieces by spikes again. 

However, his struggling was to no avail and he was thrown in the back of the truck, into darkness. Arthur ran as soon as he hit the floor, not even waiting for light. Maybe if he got to the ledge fast enough he’d be able to find a way down, or a way to escape. There was nothing of that sort though, and soon he felt a hand spin him around. Arthur stumbled backward a bit, nearly falling off himself, and the ghost grabbed the front of his shirt.

Flames erupted around its skull, and Arthur almost cried when he realized he had almost forgotten who the menace chasing him was.

“Lewis.” His name slipped out of Arthurs' mouth, more sure and sad then in his dream. Then, he plummeted.

Arthur woke up screaming again, Vivi was surprised again, and Arthur had no fucking idea what was going on. There was no way that was a dream, no way the agony and suffering he had felt was a dream. Vivi crawled towards him, and looked him in the eyes. 

“Breath, Arthur, breath, I’m right here, whatever nightmare you had isn’t real.” 

Her words only made him panic more. They were the same words as before. He had stopped screaming at this point and was instead sitting there, terror overwhelming him.

Sure, there were movies about a situation like this, but the idea of it truly happening in real life was absurd. Then again, Arthur was chased by ghosts on a weekly basis. In a shaky voice he told Vivi he was okay, and she said the same as before. He left her to sleep and grabbed his tools. Instead of working on the van, he sat outside and leaned against it. Arthur needed to think through this logically and slowly before deciding he was actually going through a time loop. 

There were a lot of things similar about his two dreams, and the current day he was stuck in, but there were differences. Thinking on it though, all the differences were caused by him and all the similarities were events he had no control over. Things like which bolts were loose, or when the ghost truck appeared. Sliding under the van, he wondered if it was the same bolts. He glanced around and found that it was the same. Quickly tightening them and sliding out, Arthur decided to tell Vivi what was going on. Maybe she’d have some idea how to get out of the loop.

He cringed as he went back into the van to wake Vivi up. His friend needed her sleep, but Arthur needed help. She groaned as Arthur gently shook her awake. “What?” Vivi asked whist sleepily rubbing her eyes and sitting up. Frowning, he said, “This is going to sound insane Vivi, but I think I’m stuck in a time loop.” One of her brows rose and she pursed her lips in suspicion. 

“I’m serious Vivi!” He defended, “I’ve lived the same day three times! The bolts that are loose on the bottom of the van are exactly the same!”

Vivi scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Arthur, those bolts are just probably more prone to getting loose, you’re just having deja-vu.” 

Clenching his hands, he shook his head, “Then explain the petal Mystery is looking at? How would I know that? It’s red and orange, I think it’s from some wooden lady that attacked us the other times I want through this day.” 

His blue-haired friend froze and thought for a moment, before saying, “Arthur, are you high?” She said it dead serious and he nearly broke out laughing. Of course, she didn’t believe him!

“No! I’m not!” He hissed out, almost offended she thought he was.

“Look, you’re probably shaken up from your dream Arthur and think you’re seeing things that you’re not. Remember what happened yesterday with Mystery? You got all freaked out. Calm down, listen to some music, it’ll be fine.”

With that, she turned on her side and headed back to sleep. Soon as she was obviously asleep though, Mystery popped his head out from the passenger side seat. 

“A wooden lady you said?”

Arthur nodded, and crawled up to the front. “Yeah, she was blue and had white hair that had cherry blossoms in it. Why, do you believe me?” 

The dog's eyes narrowed and he frowned. “Seeing as there’s no other way you’d know what she looks like, yes, I do.”

He grinned, sighing with relief. “Oh thank god you believe me.” Mystery nodded, and looked back down at the petal. 

“The wooden lady is named Shiromori, she’s after me.” Arthur's eyes widened in confusion and curiosity. 

“Why?” 

Grimacing, his friend stayed silent for a moment before changing the subject.

“So you said you’re stuck in a time loop? Any idea why?” 

“None, and I have no idea how to break it,”

“Well then let’s figure out why and how to get you out. What happened the first time this day occurred?” 

He frowned and started describing the events to Mystery. After he was finished, the dog was silent with thought. It took about ten minutes of thinking before he piped up again, “I have two ideas as to how to get you out of the loop, but I can’t figure out why you’re in the time loop in the first place. First, try to make a loop without dying. If that doesn’t work, then my thought is that you need to make up with Lewis and find out exactly why he’s dead.” 

The idea of confronting Lewis made him sick with dread. Arthur didn’t know why his friend wanted him dead, but if it was truly Lewis then Arthur must’ve done something absolutely horrible to get the man that angry. He shuddered and started the van. If he sped maybe he could get to the auto-shop before Lewis even caught up to them. 

Sadly, that plan didn’t work and while Arthur made up for the lost time from talking he didn’t manage to outrun Lewis. The truck was right behind them once again, the music glitching out, and the van was slowing down significantly. Arthur didn’t even bother fiddling with the keys or the gas and immediately slammed his hand down onto the dash. Pain shot up his arm and he cringed, but tried to pay it as little mind to it as possible. He floored the gas pedal and they sped off through the tunnel in front of them. Lewis was still right behind them, despite Arthur’s best efforts, and his heart rate picked up. 

Was he going to have to go through another loop? What if he was wrong about everything and he truly died this time? He shoved those thoughts away and instead focused back on the road. Shiromori had gotten on their shield again, but when her scissors crashed through the window Mystery managed to dodge the blade. Arthur smiled, glad he had made it so that his friend wasn’t harmed. She flew off their van a few moments later and they rolled down the hill. Arthur had managed to slow their descent a little bit so that it was more graceful. Soon as they slammed into the side of Kingsman Mechanics Arthur jumped out of the van and started running for the door.

He felt a strange feeling like something had grabbed onto him and was pulling him back as he ran. Glancing behind him, he noticed shapeless pink ghosts that had latched onto him and started to drag him back to Lewis. Arthur struggled against them but was eventually overpowered. The ghosts threw him the van, and he screamed in frustration. Instead of running to his doom he tried to find any exit around the place he had fallen. It seemed as if the place he fell from was gone, and there were no other places to run that he could see. He spun around to consider his options but was instead faced with the skeletal ghost of Lewis. 

“Shit- ok Lewis please you need to listen to me-“ Arthur was cut off by the ghost suddenly grabbing the front of his shirt with a growl. “Please Lewis,” He begged as he was taken to the edge of the ledge, “Whatever happened wasn’t what you think-“ A burst of flame surrounded his friend's skull and his face was revealed.

“Not what I think?” The man screamed, “No Arthur, I know exactly why you murdered me.” Lewis thought he murdered him? Arthur’s mind raced with confusion for a moment, trying to process what Lewis had said.

Then, he hit the floor and it went black.

He suddenly woke up and flailed around for a moment before taking a deep breath. Luckily, he had managed to not scream this time. Arthur climbed out of his makeshift bed and patted Vivi on 

the shoulder, “Get some sleep, I’m gonna work on the van.” She looked up at him, seeming surprised, “Well someone is peppy today! Normally I have to shake you awake.” Vivi smiled, her eyes lighting up with amusement. 

He chuckled, grabbing his toolbox and waived off her comment, “Oh, I just slept well is all Viv. Now you get some sleep too, your bags are almost starting to resemble mine.” With that, he exited the van. 

Maintenance went much quicker this time as Arthur knew what was wrong and how to fix it. In a matter of minutes, he was back in the van and starting the car. There was no time for any delays, he had to start driving fast as he could and get as far away from Lewis as possible. The goal of surviving the night was burned into his brain, and the only thing he thought about. However, he really should’ve had road safety in mind too, as even though the ghost truck never caught up to them, they slammed into another car and Arthur went flying out of the car. 

“Fuck!” He screamed in frustration as he woke. Vivi glanced at him in surprise but Arthur paid her no mind as he ripped off his sheets, grabbed his toolbox, and exited the van. It seemed he wasn’t going to be able to speed his way out of dying. He was going to have to go about things differently.

Arthur quickly fixed the loose bolts, climbed in the car, and started plotting. How could he manage to stay alive? There was no other route he could take, as the road they were on was a straightaway with no exits for at least three hours. Arthur had already tried talking to Lewis, it didn’t seem to work, in fact, it only made his friend angrier. Lewis seemed to think Arthur had murdered him, but why would he think that? Arthur didn’t even know why his friend was dead! Of course, it wasn’t as if Lewis would know that Arthur didn’t know, and there was no way the ghost would listen to him long enough for Arthur to explain that. 

He frowned, maybe if he managed to stay in the back he could hide? It was as good as a try as anything. Arthur raced through the motions again, slamming his arm down onto the dash, dealing with Shiromori again, and slamming into the side of Kingsman Mechanics. Soon as they stopped and Arthur had his bearings, he crawled into the back. However, he had assumed Mystery and Vivi had been knocked unconscious by the crash. That assumption was dead wrong as he saw his friends had tumbled out of the van. Grimacing that he couldn’t help them at the moment, he slammed the vans back doors shut and barred them with a metal bat. Then, he crawled into a compartment they normally used to store snacks and hid. 

It seemed he had managed to get out of view just in time as Lewis glanced into the truck with narrowed eyes. Arthur’s heart picked up and he slapped a hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t unintentionally make any noises out of fear. The ghost glanced away and he sighed in relief, thinking he was off the hook. Arthur was quickly snapped out of the illusion of safety though, as he heard Lewis say to his formless minions, “Search the shop for him, I’m going to check the van.” 

His breath hitched as Arthur curled into himself, frustration and fear coursing through him. Suddenly, he heard a scream and the sharp growl of a dog. Guilt overpowered his other emotions as tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. That was Vivi’s scream, and Arthur could only imagine the growl was Mystery. He knew Lewis would never hurt his blue-haired friend so something else must’ve happened.

Shiromori.

The thought slammed into him and the pit in his stomach got worse. Sure, they had thrown the blue creature off of their van but that didn’t mean she was dead, nor did it mean she wasn’t still chasing them. He could only imagine that Vivi would try to protect her pet and that something terrible might’ve happened in the process. 

There were sounds of a fight, growls and screams along with the faint sounds of metal and what he could only assume was claw. Then, there was silence. Eerie, horrifying, silence. Who had won the battle? He couldn’t move from where he was, too close to breaking the loop and too scared to open those doors to find his friends butchered by the wooden beast. Anxiety gnawed at him, till suddenly he faintly heard a horrified whisper. 

“Vivi..?”

Lewis’s voice shattered the silence and it was filled with sorrow and grief. Arthur held back sobs as his fears were confirmed. Vivi must not have won the fight. He listened to the sounds of Lewis’s mourning and didn’t move a muscle. At this point he didn’t care about the loop, didn’t even want to live on without Vivi, but he was too scared to see her corpse to move. What was probably minutes seemed like hours, until eventually, the vans back door was bust open. 

Lewis stepped into the van hesitantly, and Arthur noticed the normally golden heart on the man’s chest was a dark blue with a deep crack straight down its center. He wondered if the heart reflected his emotions. The ghost looked through the van slowly, seeming almost solemn, and checked every compartment methodically. Eventually, he got to Arthur. Tears he had been holding in dribbled down his face and he sucked in a breath.

The ghost stared down at him for a moment before his face contorted in anger and disgust. “You- you sat here- you listened to her die, and you did nothing?” Lewis asked, incredulous. Arthur couldn’t answer, guilt and shame overwhelmed him as he sobbed into his hands. 

His death wasn’t quick this time and it was so much worse than the spikes, intentionally so. He was burned alive, magenta flames wrapping around him in an instant. Arthur screamed as a searing pain enveloped him, and the scalding fire ate away at him until he was no more.

Arthur woke up sobbing. 

When Vivi crawled towards him he wrapped her in his arms and sobbed into her shoulder. She was stunned by the sudden affection, but hugged him back and rubbed soft circles into his back. Once he had stopped crying and had calmed, Vivi asked softy, “Do you want to talk about it? I’ve never seen you like that before.” 

Arthur sighed out a small breath and spilled out a lie, knowing she wouldn’t believe the truth. “I had a really bad dream it was really realistic. In it you um- you died.” 

Her eyes widened and she let out a small noise of surprise, “You seem really shaken up by it, you should go back to bed Artie.” 

“No, I um- you should sleep. I’m going to go check up on the van.” Before she could protest Arthur grabbed his toolbox, and hopped out of the van. Screwing the bolts in had almost become second nature to him, so in a few seconds he was back in the front seat and ready to drive. This time he had a plan. Now that he knew Shiromori attacked Vivi and Mystery he wondered if he could use her to his advantage. If Arthur could stretch the fight out long enough, and stayed by Vivi’s side, Lewis might not be able to get to him through the chaos. Arthur grinned, confidant with his new plan. He pet Mystery on the head, started the car, and he started the day once again.

 

The car chase panned out the same, the truck appeared, Shiromori attacked, and they crashed. Soon as they stopped moving, Arthur crawled into the back and grabbed the bat. He emerged the van and to see Mystery desperately trying to wake Vivi up. The dog only seemed to notice his presence when he bent down and shook his blue-haired friend. With a groan, her eyes blinked open and she stared at him. He smiled and helped Vivi to her feet. Then, Shiromori attacked.

The wooden woman ran at them and without hesitation, Arthur swung. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and he had to stop himself from grinning as the creature stumbled backwards. Without the fear of death looming over him, the prospect of fighting Shiromori was strangely exhilarating. The woman quickly regained her composure and took another stab at him. This time, Arthur was a bit too slow and she grazed the arm he held the bat with. The shock of the blow make him drop the weapon and stumble backward, cringing. Vivi picked up the weapon and swung at their attacker. Shiromori’s eyes widened as she stared at Vivi and Mystery in front of her. Arthur swore he saw a tinge of pink on the woman’s cheeks as her scissors transformed into giant, deadly pieces of metal. Vivi and Shiromori were stuck in a deadlock, bat to scissor, when the man of the hour finally appeared. 

Lewis quickly picked him out from the outskirts of the battle and Arthur thrashed against the ghosts grasp. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, Lewis was supposed to see Vivi in danger and go to help her! Instead, the man seemed fixated on him and didn’t even seem to note Vivi’s struggle. Mystery noticed his struggle, and after a moment's hesitation he made the move to help him. 

However, the dogs attention was quickly ripped away to other things as Vivi quickly tumbled to the ground, the bat slipping from her hands. Mystery immediately went to help her and Arthur was left to his fate. He screamed and struggled against Lewis until he was eventually backed up on the ledge, facing his old friend for the last moments before he died again. 

“Fuck you!” Arthur screamed, frustration with his situation finally catching up to him. The ghost seemed taken aback for a moment, and seemed to want to say something before he was cut off by Arthur once again. “You left her there? Struggling? Really?! I thought you fucking loved her Lewis, I thought you’d do anything for her! That’s how it had always been what the fuck has changed this time?! For all you fucking know that monster could have killed her Lewis!” 

Lewis’s eyes grew wide and he stumbled backwards in surprise. “I- You- Why should you care what happens to her you fucking murderer!” Lewis bellowed, fire enveloping the skeletal man's fists as he grew angrier. 

“Because I love her!” He yelled back. It seemed to be the last straw, as the man picked him up by the collar and dangled him off the edge.

“I knew it,” Lewis hissed out, “You were jealous.” 

He woke with those words ringing in his head.

Arthur dragged himself out of bed and greeted Vivi with the normal conversation they had. She should get some sleep, he should fix the van, etc. However, before she went to bed, he asked her a quick question. “Hey Vivi, you remember the cave where I lost my arm?” She tensed and nodded, “Well what do remember exactly? Do you remember how I lost my arm? Anything about Lewis?” 

With a sigh, she looked him in the eyes solemnly. “I- I never saw how you lost your arm. Mystery dragged you over to me and I rushed you out of the cave as fast as possible. As for Lewis..,” Vivi paused, taking a shaky breath, “I know you’ve told me about him, and I know he was with us at one point but the specifics off all of him are gone. I don’t remember what he looks like, who he was, anything like that. I just feel this emptiness like something’s missing and I since you tell me Lewis is gone I can only assume that feeling is because of him. That’s- that’s all I know Arthur. Sorry.” 

He smiled at her gratefully and wrapped her in a hug, “Thank you Vivi, I know it’s not the easiest thing to talk about.” Vivi stared back up at him, eyes sparkling and cheeks slightly flushed. For a moment, Arthur’s mind entertained the idea of kissing her. After all, there would be no consequence as time would just loop. He quickly shoved away the idea with disgust. While Arthur desperately wanted to kiss the girl in front of him, he knew it was wrong. So, he squeezed her hand gently and left.

With tools in hand, Arthur quickly fixed up the van. He entered the van, comforted Mystery, and started to drive. In calm moments before he got attacked by Lewis and Shiromori, Arthur thought about the cave. He was sure it was the key to why Lewis was dead, and why Lewis blamed him for his death. Arthur just needed to find someone who knew what happened that night. Then the thought occurred to him. Mystery might know.

He was almost surprised he had never thought about asking the mutt, as according to Vivi’s telling, Mystery probably knew what happened that night. Arthur hated to wake his friend up, but he needed answers. So, with a gentle prod to the side and a mumble, Mystery stirred. The dog looked up at him with a questioning gaze and Arthur started to speak. “Hey Mystery, what do you remember about the cave where I lost my arm?” 

Mystery sighed and sat up with a frown, “You lost your arm, Lewis went missing, what else is there to say?” Arthur raised a brow, “There’s a lot more to say. I don’t even know how I lost the arm Mystery, nor do I know who took it off. I also don’t know how Lewis died, or why he blames me.” 

He cringed as moments after he spoke he remembered this Mystery wouldn’t know about Lewis being dead. “Arthur, why are you asking me this?” 

The dog avoided his eyes, shifting in his seat. It was obvious something was up. “Mystery, please. Cut the act. I know you know what happened that night, and I know it has something to do with you since every goddamn time I see you out of the corner of my eye my fight or flight goes wild. Don’t be guilty for whatever happened, but I need to know.”

Mystery let out a sigh and looked down at the floor. “Alright,” he paused, “When we went into the cave that night, you got possessed. You shoved Lewis off a cliff and in order to stop the being from taking you over completely I had to tear off your arm.” 

His eyes widened and his arm immediately went to grab the place where metal met flesh. “Why..why didn’t you tell us in the first place?”

“I thought it best if you kept the memories repressed. From what I could tell, my jaws were not the most...forgiving of a tool to tear off a limb.” The ride was silent from then on and Arthur was left to his thoughts.

Suddenly, it made sense as to why Lewis was so angry with him. The man thought Arthur was his murderer, and in a sick twist of events Arthur really wasn’t. Or, at least he wasn’t responsible to the extent of wanting to kill him. After all, spirits can’t worm their way into a body easily, unless some weakness had already been there. It must’ve taken advantage of Arthur’s loneliness and slipped into way into him. So, Arthur was still responsible in a way even if it hadn’t been intentional. The thought made his gut twist with guilt and he frowned, focusing his plan instead of the thoughts in his head. 

Arthur had managed to get Lewis’s attention last loop, going so far as to get him to seemingly hesitate. He just needed to repeat what he said so he had Lewis’s attention and explain his situation. It was likely to take a couple tries, but Arthur was determined it would work. So, when they crashed he repeated the same things he did last time. Defended Vivi, struggled against Lewis, and yelled at the ghost for leaving the girl behind. It didn’t work. So he tried again, and again. 

His plan took about ten tries to work, but it did work. Arthur had been dragged into the cave as always, and was cornered by Lewis, the drop he only place he could go. 

“You left her there? Struggling? Really?! I thought you fucking loved her Lewis, I thought you’d do anything for her! That’s how it had always been what the fuck has changed this time?! For all you fucking know that monster could have killed her Lewis!” 

After saying the same words so many times it was hard to get them to hold the same emotion, but it seemed he succeeded as Lewis’s eyes grew wide and he stumbled backwards in surprise. 

“I- You- Why should you care what happens to her you fucking murderer!” They said the words at the same time, Arthur knowing what the ghost was going to say from past loops. His friend stared at him, confused and bewildered. 

“But that’s the thing Lewis, I didn’t kill you. Not really, at least. I got possessed, the spirit took over my body, took advantage of my resentment, and shoved you. Sure it wouldn’t have gotten in if I had just been happy for you and Vivi, but it wasn’t as if I wanted you dead. Mystery even had to rip off my arm so the possession wouldn’t take me over entirely.” Arthur gestured to his limp metal limb, and Lewis sputtered, likely not knowing what to think at the moment. 

“But- I-“ Once again, the ghost and Arthur spoke over each other. Lewis glared at him, anger making flames envelop his hands, “Could you stop that! How are you even doing that!” 

Arthur swore he almost saw the ghost burst in anger as once again, Arthur said the same words as him, at the same time. The blonde sighed, this was the farthest he had gotten so far. So, he had to tread lightly from here on out.

“Lewis, I’m stuck in a time loop. I’ve been in this cave before, I’ve had this conversation before, and you’ve gotten your revenge on me before.” Arthur frowned, noticing the ghosts face. 

“That’s ridiculous. You’re lying, you killed me, and this is some ridiculous ruse so you can escape.” The words were quiet, as if his friend was in disbelief. 

Shaking his head, Arthur stepped forwards, away from the ledge and towards Lewis. “Dude, how else would I know exactly what you’re going to say, whenever you say it. It took me like ten tries to even get this far in the conversation without you hurling me off the cliff.”

It was as if he could see the thoughts running through his friends head as everything processed. “Ok.” The ghost admitted, his voice shaky, “Why are you telling me?” 

Arthur finally relaxed, “I think that maybe if I don’t die, the loop will stop.”

His friend paused, until eventually he mumbled out, “Does that mean I’ve killed every time you've lived through this day?” Arthur cringed and nodded sadly, “Yeah, I’ve only died one time where it wasn’t you. It was my second or third loop, and I got into a car crash trying to escape from you.”

It was quiet again and they stayed there, facing each other, both not knowing what to do. “Is it always the spikes?” Lewis’s voice piped back up, and his expression seemed solemn, borderlining guilty.

“No, there was.. there was one time where I heard Vivi die. I- I didn’t help her.” He struggled to keep his voice steady as tears pricked the corners of his eyes, “You gave me what I deserved that time.”

Arthur desperately changed the subject, “We should get out of this cave and check on Vivi. I don’t know what happens to here once I get thrown in here. If all goes well, time won’t reset and we can… we can actually talk this out instead of rushing through it. For all it’s worth right now, I’m sorry my dumb emotions are the reason you’re dead.”

Lewis sighed, staring down at his feet, “Thank you. I don’t know if I forgive you yet but...thank you for apologizing.”

His friend let the cave fade around them, leaving them in the metallic back of the truck. They started to walk out and Arthur smiled, things would be ok. He could just feel it in the air. Lewis and him would talk things out, they could figure out Vivi’s memory, and deal with Shiromori. It was the end of Arthur’s suffering and the beginning of a new day. 

Or so he thought.

Until Vivi shook him awake.

“Wakey wakey dude,” The blue-haired girl said with a twinkle in her eye, “I started dozing off while driving so you should take the wheel. Oh and maybe you could take a look at the van? It was acting up a bit.” Arthur stared at her in horror and confusion. He was so sure it was going to work, he was going to be happy and have a new start, but he was back here. Back in this damn moment. With a frustrated growl, he threw off his sheets, grabbed his toolbox, and fled the van. 

Arthur sat on the pavement, head in his hands, and his mind raced through why it didn’t work. Maybe he would never get out of the loop, maybe this was some wicked version of hell and he had actually died. His mind was going down a horrific pessimist spiral and Arthur felt tears welling in his eyes. He was so frustrated and tired of this day. Every moment that ticked by was torture and every time he woke up was like being stabbed through the gut. Arthur wanted to get out of this hellscape.

At this point he was full out sobbing, his raspy breaths and sobs a gross noise that cut through the calm night. Suddenly, he felt an arm wrap around him. He turned to the side and saw Vivi sitting there. 

“Vivi,” Arthur said weakly, tears dripping from his face, “What are you doing out here? You need sleep.” 

The blue-haired girl smiled and leaned into his shoulder. Warmth radiated from her body and he felt better already. Strange how Vivi knew just what to do to cheer him up. He really didn’t deserve her as a friend. “I heard you crying from inside the van and I wasn’t just going to leave you to sob all alone. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, not now at least, I just hate seeing you upset.” 

God, he really didn’t deserve Vivi as his friend. Even though she wouldn’t believe him, he owed her at least an explanation. “Well, you’re going to think I’m insane but I’m stuck in a time loop. I’ve lived through this exact day I think twenty times at this point.”

There was a moment of silence as Vivi considered what he said. Then, she finally spoke up. “Alright, I believe you.” Arthur's eyes went wide with surprise and he stared at her. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. If you’re this worked up it has to be true, I don’t think you could make this up.” Tears of relief dribbled down his face as he took Vivi in his arms and hugged the daylights out of her. She seemed shocked by the sudden contact for a moment but then reciprocated and rubbed circles in his back.

“You have no idea how much that means to me Vivi.” He let go of his friend and wiped his eyes with a smile. “The last loop I went though I thought would be the last. I had died every single loop, so I figured if I managed to stay alive it would stop. But obviously I’m still here.” 

Vivi’s eyes went wide with concern, “You died every single time? That’s..that’s horrible.” Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. “It is, but oddly enough, and morbid enough, I’ve gotten used to it. Sure, it still hurts when it happens but it’s kinda just become part of the routine. I know the pain and I know what’s coming. So at least it doesn’t hurt emotionally anymore.” 

She nodded and took his hand, “So do you have any ideas how to get out of the loop now?” 

“Yeah. The other idea I had is that maybe if I make amends and get Lewis to forgive me the loop will stop.” Vivi looked at him in confusion and he remembered she only vaguely knew who he was talking about. “Lewis is the guy I’m looking for, remember? Turns out he’s the ghost that was at the mansion. When we went into the cave where I lost my arm I got possessed and the spirit used my body to shove him off the cliff. He doesn’t know that though, and thinks I killed him.”

“Oh.” 

Arthur snorted and let out a small chuckle. It was a crazy when he thought about it in its entirety. He was stuck in a time loop, got possessed and killed his own friend, and now said friend was a revenant out for his blood. God, what the hell was his life? “Anyways, I gotta fix the car. I don’t want it breaking down later. I don’t really have a plan for this loop so you can go to sleep if you want.”

His friend seemed lost in her own thoughts, but nodded, and went back inside the van. Arthur quickly fixed what needed to be fixed and followed after her. When he got in the van, instead of seeing her sleeping he saw her talking to Mystery. Vivi turned to him with a grin and he already knew something was going on. 

“So you know how you don’t have a plan for this loop? Well I let Mystery know about your predicament and we came up with an idea. Me and Lewis used to date before right?” Arthur nodded, unsure as to where she was going with this. “Well, do you think if I stood in the road he’d stop for me?” 

“Holy shit Vivi no, there’s no way I’m letting you do that!” Arthur yelled, appalled that she would even think about such a thing. 

“Ok, but would he stop? You two would need as much time as possible to talk so getting his to stop the truck is your best bet.” With a frown, Arthur nodded, seeing the horrible logic in her plan. Plus, if it didn’t work and Lewis did hit her it wasn’t as if she wouldn’t be back next loop. He hated himself for thinking that way, but he couldn’t help but admit it was true. 

“Yeah. He’d stop.”

She grinned, “Alright then, we’ll stay still and when we seem him coming up I’ll step outside. Then you guys can talk everything out.” He cringed, still concerned about her plan in the first place.

“I don’t know how you can be so brave as to give up your life like that. At least I know I’ll come back, you...you don’t know that.”

“Sure,” She said nonchalantly, taking her hand and cupping his cheek affectionately. “But I trust you. So if you say he won’t hit me, then I trust you to be right about that.” Butterflies fluttered in his stomach and he couldn’t take her beautiful face and kind soul anymore. He stopped himself from doing anything though. She didn’t deserve someone like him, she deserved much better. He wrapped his arms around her again and the rest of the time they spent waiting for Lewis was spent with comforting words, jokes, and the thrums of his butterflies in his stomach.

Arthur had almost drifted off when he heard the roar of engines. He shook Vivi awake and jolted up. She looked up at him lazily before realizing what was going on. Vivi stood and ran outside the van. The truck was getting closer as she stood in the road, arms spread wide. Despite Vivi saying she trusted him, the girl was tended and her eyes were screwed shut in fear. Arthur couldn’t bear seeing her like that, so he did what any person with no regard for their own life would do. He walked out onto the road, took her hand, and stood next to her.

The truck drew closer, still going at a ridiculously fast speed. Maybe he couldn’t clearly see them yet? Still, it grew closer and showed no signs of stopping. Arthur prepared to shove Vivi out of the way if it grew too close for comfort. His heart raced as the vehicle was only a couple hundred feet away. Then suddenly, it screeched to a halt.

Arthur froze, not really prepared for this to work and he squeezed Vivi’s hand as Lewis stepped out of the truck. The bright magenta of the ghosts flames stood out against the muted world around them and his eyes stared Arthur down with malice.

“Get away from him Vivi. You don’t know what he is.” Lewis growled. The blonde opened his mouth to defend and explain himself, but was interrupted by Vivi speaking up instead.

“No, I know what he is and I know what you think he is Lewis.” The ghost froze, his eyes wide.

“You- you remember me-? How-?”

“I don’t. I don’t remember you, but Arthur has told me everything about you. That we dated, that you’d do anything for me, and that you went missing.” She stared at the ghost in front of her, “He told me he was going to look for you. I told him I’d help. I suppose in a fucked up way, we never found you, you found us.”

Lewis’s eyes narrowed and he took a step forwards, “I suppose he must’ve lied then, since he knows exactly what happened to me, and knew where he could find me. Arthur never told you what he did to me.”

“No, he told me. You think he’s a murderer right? Lewis, that’s not the full story. Look, if you truly loved me and still do, you need to calm down and listen. I don’t blame you for your way of thinking, you don’t have all the facts, but now we’re offering to tell you what really happened and you need to take it. If you’re really the good person Arthur says you were, you will.” 

It was still for a moment and Arthur’s heart pounded in his chest. Things were going much better than he ever could have imagined and it was all thanks to Vivi. “Alright,” The ghost said, still obviously frustrated and angry. “Let’s hear whatever this is.” 

“Good enough!” Vivi said with a grin and slung her arm around Arthur, “I’m going to leave you two alone to sort things out but just so you know, I’m going to be watching so you don’t kill him.” She made a gesture with her hand and then scurried off towards the van, leaving Arthur and Lewis alone. 

He sighed and glanced at the ghost in front of him. Arthur’s exhaustion with his situation suddenly crashed into him now that Vivi had left. He figured he better start talking, “Guess I better start explaining. I actually don’t remember much of the cave, it’s still really hazy, but there was something in there with us. It- it took advantage of my resentment at being the third wheel and slipped into my body. Then it.. it killed you.” Arthur took a deep breath as his voice cracked, “Mystery had to tear off my arm so that the spirit wouldn’t take me over completely.” He gestured to his metal arm.

Lewis stared at him suspiciously and then glanced back at the van. “This could’ve been resolved much faster if you had said that sooner Arthur.” The ghosts voice was dripping with resentment and anger. It was obvious Lewis didn’t quite believe him yet.

He took a moment to wipe the tears that had pricked up at the corners of his eyes. Even though he had done it last loop, admitting what happened was still tough. Every time he seemed to think about it, it brought horrible hazy memories to his mind. “Technically I didn’t really know what happened until today. Hell, I didn’t even know you were the ghost that was chasing us.”

“Technically?”

“This will sound insane, but I’ve been stuck in a time loop. I’ve lived this same day at least 20 times. Every time I die or every time it hits around 2am I wake up right back in my bed. Same bolts loose on the van and same truck chasing after us.”

Lewis scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You really expect me to believe that Arthur?”

“You planned to throw me down the same fall I pushed you down when you found me. You have an entire illusion probably made already I’d imagine. A near perfect replica.”

“How did you-?”

“I’ve gone through it before. Like I said, it resets when I die.” His voice was monotone and detracted, as if his own death didn’t mean anything to him anymore.

“Oh.” Lewis looked at him for a moment, truly studying the blonde. His expression softened slightly and he relaxed a bit. “What do you mean you didn’t know? How did you find out?”

“The first loop I went through, I had no idea until I was at the cliffs edge. You were dangling me off, about to drop me when flames erupted around your face. It showed some other form you must have, it looked like you when you were alive. The only difference was the eyes. That’s when I first recognized you.”

“You’re- you’re really not lying.” Flames shot around the mans face, “It was this right?” Tan skin and magenta hair stared him in the face. Arthur nodded.

“Yeah. That’s it.”

“So if your memories are hazy then how do you know what happened in the cave?”

“Well, the second or third loopI managed to talk to Mystery and get him to believe me. Turns out he saw everything that happened since he had to rip off my arm.” 

Lewis frowned, “So you just took his word for it?”

“He has no reason to lie.”

“True.”

Arthur sighed and relaxed a bit, then looked up at Lewis. He was still in the form that looked somewhat human. “You probably don’t believe me completely, or haven’t forgiven me 100% but I just… I’ve looked for you so long Lewis. Even if you are dead and this whole situation is fucked to high hell i'm glad I just know where you are. I’m glad I know what happened.” Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he had to clasp his hand over his mouth to choke back a sob. It took a couple moments for him to calm himself down a bit. “So, I don’t have much proof that when I’m saying is true, but I have this.” He ran over to the van and Lewis followed. Arthur pulled out his laptop from his bag, turned it on, and loaded up the map. “You know how we keep a map on where we’ve been and where we’ve dealt with the paranormal? Well, I started keeping where we were looking for you on it too.”

Lewis looked at the screen in Arthur’s arms, and his arms darted from place to place. “That skull, that’s the place you guys first saw me right?” Arthur nodded and noticed Lewis seemed conflicted. He closed out of the tab and nearly turned the laptop off when Lewis stopped him from doing so. “Is that- you still have that as your background?” 

He chuckled a little bit as he looked at the screen, “Yeah, it’s a great picture. Though, not my proudest moment. That thing was so spicy!” Lewis chuckled and Arthur smiled a bit. He was getting somewhere with this. Suddenly, there was a scream. Arthur scrambled up and ran to the front side of the van where a wooden woman had sprouted out of the ground. Vivi was struggling against the woman as Mystery cowered behind her. 

Arthur didn’t think, didn’t even bother to grab a weapon. What did it matter? If worse came to worse he would just die and come back. So, adrenaline pumped through his veins as he ran towards Shiromori and tackled her. The woman screamed and struggled as he tried to pin her. Somehow, she had managed to squirm out of his grip. She screamed, pure anger evident in her voice as her scissors grew. Shiromori swung at him and he dodged a moment too late, the blade slicing through skin. However, Arthur didn’t even take note of the wound as the creature turned to Vivi and Mystery. As he had fallen to the ground when attacked, he grabbed one of the woman’s foot and tugged, knocking her off her feet. Shiromori fell to the floor and when she hit the ground it seemed fiery snakes wrapped around her limbs, pinning her. 

Arthur stood and took a raspy breath. Vivi rushed towards him, tears in her eyes. “Arthur, oh my god are you ok?” It took him a moment to answer, his body feeling fuzzy and slow from the blood loss. “Yeah. I think I’m good?” He tried to walk but stumbled, and Vivi had to grab him and support him.

“Well someone’s a liar.” She joked, although worry was prominent on her face. “Come on, we gotta get into the van and bandage you up.” Arthur nodded, leaning on Vivi and weakly walking to the van. “Here.” A voice said, deep and echoey, “Let me help.” There was a moment's hesitation, then Arthur was scooped up into someone’s arms and carried into the van. 

Arthur woke up to the sound of Vivi and Lewis’s voices. For a moment, it felt like he was back in the past, until the gravity of the situation slammed back onto him. He sat up and groaned, “What time is it?” Vivi rushed over to him with a bright smile. “Arthur! Thank god I was worried you’d never wake up! Are you okay? How are you feeling?” His chest ached with pain and he glanced down, noticing the bandages that spread across it. “I’m ok. Well, as ok as I can be. What time is it?” 

Vivi glanced at her phone for a moment and frowned, “One-thirty. That means thirty more minutes until you’re supposed to reset right?” He nodded and suddenly noticed his thudding headache. 

“Oh god do we have any painkillers?” His blue haired friend nodded and dug through a bin before handing him a small bottle. He took a couple pills and glanced over at the ghost who sat in the corner of the van awkwardly. Vivi noticed him staring, pat him on the shoulder, and said, “I’m gonna head outside to make sure the weird chick is still restrained and to ask her some questions. You two should talk more.” With that, she left the two of them alone.

Surprisingly, Lewis was the one who spoke first. “You raced towards Vivi to save her, you didn’t even think about it?” The words seemed like they were less directed to him, and more a question for Lewis himself to mull over. “Yeah, Vivi means everything to me.” The ghosts eyes narrowed and Arthur chose his next words carefully, “She’s my best friend and even though she doesn’t remember you she didn’t even hesitate to help me find you. I’d do anything for her.”

“You could’ve died.” His friends eyes were on him and the tone in his voice seemed almost concerned.

“I’ve died before, what's one more time?” The statement was morbid, and he was afraid he’d struck a sore spot with the deadman as he tensed.

“I think as someone whose dead I’m allowed to tell you that you should take your life more seriously.”

Yeah, that was definitely concern. It took everything Arthur had not to break into a grin. He had gotten through to Lewis. “So do you forgive me for what happened?”

“There’s nothing to forgive you for Arthur. It wasn’t you that killed me, no matter how much that part of that wants to use you as a scapegoat screams. If anyone should be asking for forgiveness it’s me. You were my best friend, but I let my rage blind me and didn’t even consider there might’ve been something more to what happened.”

Arthur smiled and small tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks. “You have no idea how much that means Lewis. That right there was the answer to my time loop. I think I had to make things right, and get my friend back.” He wiped his eyes and stood shakily. Slipping on a shirt he said, “We should see what’s going on with Shiromori, Vivi might’ve gotten something out of her.” Lewis nodded and followed him around the van where they saw Vivi and Mystery studying a hole in the ground.

“Seems like she escaped.” Lewis said as they walked up to the hole, “Ironically, I ran into her earlier. She did the same thing, just popped into the ground and disappeared. I didn’t know she was after you guys though.”

“Well, she’s after Mystery specifically.” Arthur chimed in, glancing at the dog, “He won’t tell us why though.”

Vivi frowned and glared at Mystery, who sheepishly said in response, “I suppose there’s no avoiding telling you guys now, but maybe tomorrow? Today has been long for all of us.” Arthur agreed with that, and they all headed back into the van. It seemed everything was going to be alright.

They drove off into the distance and then- 

and then Arthur woke up.

He opened his eyes, not really processing for a moment. Then, he realized and Arthur didn’t feel like crying, screaming, or doing anything at all. He felt completely devoid of anything but a buzzing numbness that racked his brain. What was the point? He had tried, and tried, and tried, but nothing worked. Nothing had meaning if everything was just going to end up exactly the same in the end. So why try? Why fight it anymore? Why go through every possibility, every situation, if nothing was going to work. Arthur had been so close, at least he thought he had been, and it had resulted in nothing. 

Vivi shook him, probably thinking he was still asleep. He stayed still for a moment, his mind still in a disarray. Then, he got up lazily, glanced at Vivi, and waited for her to say the same thing she always did. “Hey Arthur, I caught myself drifting off, it’s probably better if you take the wheel. If you could also take a look at the car it would be great, we’ve been having problems again.” Arthur stood, dead silent, and grabbed the toolbox. At this point he was just going through the motions with no idea of where he was going next. Though, he thought, it didn’t really matter what he did next. Nothing mattered and he would just end up back in that bed at 2AM again. 

Without thinking about it, he tightened the bolts underneath the van and then got back in. Arthur glanced to side and saw Mystery, then pat him on the head. The night and scenery flew by as he drove down the road. For once, Arthur's head wasn’t buzzing with thoughts or worries during this drive. It was just numb. 

Lewis’s van showed up and Arthur glanced back at it nonchalantly. He slammed the dash with his hand and continued his drive. It didn’t matter if Lewis was there, Lewis was always there. So, he sped away, like he always did, and Lewis gave chase. Shiromori appeared moments later once they were out of the tunnel. The windshield shattered, she sliced Mystery’s cheek, and was then thrown off by their tire popping. Then, they crashed. 

During all of it Arthur felt nothing and did nothing but what he always did. His mind chanted at him that it didn’t matter, that he should’ve just stayed in the bed. Maybe he would the next loop. Maybe Arthur could just stay in that bed forever, the days blurring into one another until Arthur was just left in an eternal darkness. The idea was sickeningly appealing and he decided that’s exactly what he was going to do, sleep and never wake. 

He crashed into the side of Kingsman Mechanics. Everything was ringing, hazy, and Arthur’s head pounded. The same as before. Arthur was picked up and dragged out of the van. When the ringing cleared and he was able to focus again, he looked up at the ghost that held him. Flaming hatred was evident in the beings eyes. Arthur looked back down at the ground and was flung into the darkness. He hit the floor with a thud and stood back up slowly. The cave around him glowed magenta, and Arthur realized he had never really looked at it as he was too much in a rush. It seemed almost surreal, the way the cave was a near perfect replica. He walked to the ledge he often fell off of and sat with his legs dangling off.

Then Arthur heard footsteps behind him. “Hi Lewis.” He said, not even bothering to look at the man. “I’ve never taken a moment to actually look at this. It’s impressive in a strange sort of way.” His voice was near monotone, and carried a strange sort of sadness. The footsteps froze. “Well, go ahead. Push me.” 

He waited a few moments and when he hadn’t been shoved he glanced back at the ghost behind him. Lewis had his arm outstretched but was seemingly hesitating. “Do it.” Arthur said, his voice quiet. The ghosts arm lowered to his side and Lewis stared at him. The blonde couldn’t help but notice the dimming of the floating heart by his friends chest. There was a strange sort of somber silence between them.

Then, Lewis’s deep voice echoed out. 

“N-no.”

Arthur turned away, the numbness in him fading as tears slipped down his face. His exhaustion crashed into him as he sobbed. He was so, so tired. Tired of this day, tired of being putting against a person he loved over and over. “Why?” Arthur choked out, his voice shaky and raw. 

“I don’t know.” His friend whispered out, as if he was questioning the very words themself. “You just sounded so broken.”

It was silent again as they stayed on that ledge, both not knowing what to do. Finally, Arthur couldn’t take the quiet. 

“It wasn’t able to possess me because I was jealous.” He said, knowing this Lewis had no context for his words. Arthur figured if this was the last time he’d suffer through this day before succumbing to how tired he was, he may as well admit the truth. “Not even because I was resentful I was the third wheel.” Lewis stared at him, confused but listening. “I loved you both, fuck, I still love you both, and I hate myself for it.”

It was silent again.

“What?” The man asked, eyes wide, “Possessed? Arthur what are you talking about?”

“I didn’t push you. I got possessed. Mystery had to rip off my arm so I wouldn’t get completely possessed.” 

“So it wasn’t you?”

“Technically, no. It wasn’t.” He paused, letting out a shaky breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, “It was my fault though, I should’ve been stronger and pushed it out. Hell, I should’ve made myself fall off that cliff instead of you. Lord knows I deserve it more.” Arthur’s voice grew quiet at the last sentence.

Lewis say next to him on the ledge, the ghost didn’t say anything but Arthur could feel the guilt practically radiating off of the man. 

“Don’t feel guilty that you went after me. You didn’t know, you have every right to be angry.”

“But you seem so broken Arthur, and I can only imagine it’s from the guilt and suffering I’ve brought you-“

Arthur interrupted quickly, “It’s not.”

“Then what is it?” Lewis asked.

“There’s no point in telling you.”

“What do you mean-“ Arthur cut Lewis off again with a sigh as he said, “There’s no point. Trust me.”

The ghost stared at him for a moment before eventually shaking his head. It was quiet again.  
Arthur knew it was time for the world to reset again, so he shut his eyes and waited for the feeling of his bed around him. However, nothing happened.

He flicked open his eyes and stared at the cave in front of him. “No way.” Arthur whispered out, the beginnings of a smile on his face. Standing, he looked at the world around him, running his hands on the walls and grinning like a madman. He had finally figured it out, all he had to do was admit the lie that caused everything to happen in the first place. He loved Lewis, and he also loved Vivi. Poor Arthur was lovestuck, head-over-heels for his best friends and somehow, the world wouldn’t let him rest until it was known. A weight was lifted from his chest and he felt near euphoric as he came to the realization. Lewis, who had stood after him, looked desperately confused. However, it didn’t matter at the moment as a dawning realization hit him.

Vivi was still in danger.

Arthur’s eyes went wide and he turned to the ghost. “Lewis, we need to go, Vivi is in major trouble.” 

“What- how would you even know if that’s true you’ve been in here or unconscious-“

“Oh we don’t have time for this!” He yelled, frustration getting the best of him, “I realize we haven’t fully talked everything out and you’re still probably upset about the whole murder thing but you need to trust me here dude. Vivi is in trouble.”

Lewis hesitated for a moment, but then the walls of the cave faded around them, revealing the sleek metal of the truck. Quickly, Arthur sprinted out, ran to the back of the van, and tackled Shiromori right as she was about to stab Vivi. He heard the crack of a gunshot as he hit the ground and his eyes widened. Lance must’ve seen what was going on and grabbed his gun. Arthur scrambled to his feet and quickly glanced around to see if anyone had been hurt by the shot. Luckily, Lance seemed to have been aiming for Shiromori and the gunshot just barely missed him as he had tackled the woman down. 

His uncle rushed towards him, worry painted blatantly on his face. “My boy! Ye could’ve gotten hurt what we’re ya doing tackling her? That’s more courage I’ve ever see you have!” The dawning realization slammed Arthur that he could’ve died and never came back hit him with a fury. He laughed nervously at the wave of anxiety that washed over him. “Well, I saw Vivi in danger and just-“ Arthur was interrupted by the sound of Lances gun cocking. The man was pointing straight at Lewis.

“Oh! Oh my god, Lance no that’s not anyone bad that’s- um- that’s Lewis.” His voice trailed off at the end as Lance glanced at him and then back at Lewis with pity. Arthur decided to change the subject as he saw Shiromori moving at the edge of his vision. “However, you can definitely shoot that one.” He said, glaring at the wooden woman. Her eyes widened as she realized what was going on and before they could stop her, she was sucked into the ground, disappearing into the night.

Vivi stood and brushed off her skirt, then glanced at Lewis. Her eyes lit up and her face spread into an ecstatic grin. “Arthur is that the ghost from the mansion?!” 

“No, it’s Lewis.” He said, sarcasm jokingly dripping from his voice. Arthur heard Lewis chuckle a little bit and smiled. Vivi’s eyes widened, “You’re Lewis? But isn’t Lewis supposed to be alive Arthur-?” He grimaced and Vivi realized the mistake of what she said. “Oh! Oh. Oh my god I’m so sorry Lewis.” The ghost shrugged. “It’s alright. I just um.. how much do you remember about me Vivi?” 

“I know what Arthur’s told me about you, and I know you were with us at one point but the specifics off all of you are gone. I don’t remember what you look like, who you were to me, or anything like that.The biggest things Arthur has told me is that we dated and that you went missing after the cave. That’s really all I know, sorry.” 

“It’s alright Vivi, I understand.” He paused, “May I try something though?” 

Vivi looked at him in curiosity and nodded. Then, the heart that had beat by Lewis’s chest the entire time floated up to his blue-haired friend. “Open it.” Vivi popped open the locket and then there was a sudden rush of pink sparks surrounding her. Then, once the magic died down the girl ran up to Lewis and wrapped her arms around him. “Lewis! Oh my god, Lewis! You died, you died right in front of me, I thought you were gone forever!” She forced the words out through sobs and Lewis wrapped his arms around her, picking her up just like before he died. Arthur smiled, but felt that old pain in his heart. He shoved it away, saving that problem for a later day. Suddenly, he felt unsteady on his feet and his exhaustion crashed into him. His breath was shallow and he swayed on his feet. Then, it all went black.

Arthur woke in a panic, sheets tangled around him and his heart beating in his chest. It couldn’t have reset, he couldn’t be back again. He flailed in his sheets, struggling to get them off when Vivi rushed towards him. “Arthur! Arthur calm down you passed out last night, everything’s alright, I’m right here.” His eyes widened, that was something different, and he could see the magena glow of Lewis’s hair from the corner of his eye. Arthur sighed in relief as he realized the time loop was really over, and he was finally free to live his life again.

He could finally sit down and properly make up with Lewis, maybe even tell them about the time loop, after all he did have small bits of proof. A part of him hoped now that they were all together again maybe he could begin to understand his crushes on his two friends, either getting over them or letting it blossom into something. He was tired of being disgusted by his feelings, as that hate hadn’t made him weakand been the cause of everything. Arthur smiled and stared out the window of the van at the road ahead. It was a brand new day.


End file.
